When Gold Coast mum Sophie first took her new baby home from the hospital, she had no idea how much her life was about to change. Whilst she’d heard all the cliched jokes during her pregnancy about making the most of sleep while she still could, it was the intense feelings of isolation that took her by surprise during the first few months of her daughter’s life.

“Prior to having my daughter, I worked in hospitality, so I was used to meeting and chatting with new people every day and spent my days off catching up with friends. So, I found it really hard spending so much time at home with no one to talk to. In the early weeks especially, it felt like a never-ending cycle of feeding, and nappy changes,” she laughs, “and I was so tired, that when I did get a moment to myself, I was either catching up on the laundry, or I’d flop down on the couch and try to squeeze a nap in.”

“I’m the first one in my friend group to have a baby, so after the initial excitement of meeting my daughter wore off, they figured I was busy with Tilly and stopped inviting me to things.”

“By the time my partner came home from work in the evening, I’d be waiting in the driveaway, desperate for human connection. I just felt so lonely and isolated and was constantly second guessing myself when it came to taking care of my daughter. It was as though I’d lost all confidence in myself.”

It’s a story that is all too common and one that can have a significant impact the mental health and wellbeing of new mums. Research show that low social support is one of the strongest predictors of perinatal depression and anxiety, which makes building and maintaining social connections particularly important during early motherhood. As Sophie discovered, baby and toddler sensory classes can be just as valuable to a mum’s sense of self as it is to her child’s physical, emotional and cognitive development.

“The turning point for me came after I googled ‘newborn classes Gold Coast’ and started attending a local sensory class with Tilly. I met other mums in exactly the same position as me and I felt better when I realised that they worry over the all the same things I do. We get to chat about our babies’ sleeping patterns or reflux without boring our single friends and I feel like my old self again. My advice to anyone struggling during the early days would be to find a sensory class for newborns near you and start building those social connections with women who are at the same stage of life as you are, and who get what you are going through. It’s the highlight of my week now and I’d be lost without my mum friends.”